Germany has won the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing for the fourth time since the series began in 2012. A fine performance for second place behind New Zealand at the final leg this weekend at Boekelo (NED) took Germany 80 points ahead of Great Britain on the series leader board, with France finishing in third overall.

FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing is contested over nine events across Europe plus The Plains (USA), and is the world’s only team Eventing series.

Germany contested seven out of nine legs of the 2017 FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing, scoring a remarkable five wins: at Strzegom (POL), Houghton Hall (GBR), Wiener Neustadt (AUT), on home ground at Aachen (GER) and at Waregem (BEL). The team was also third at Haras du Pin (FRA).

Britain, twice winners of the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing, travelled out to the US leg at The Plains as well as all eight European legs. Their seven best scores included five runner-up spots (at Strzegom, Houghton Hall, Tattersalls, Haras du Pin and Waregem) and they had a 10-point advantage over Germany going into the final leg. However, Boekelo proved a disappointing weekend with the horses and riders facing tough weather conditions: Laura Collett was eliminated for a cross country fall and both Tom McEwen and Matt Heath had to withdraw before jumping.

France, always enthusiastic supporters of FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing, which aims to give team experience to a wide range of riders, contested five legs and won two, at Tattersalls (IRL) and the home leg at Haras du Pin.

“A total of 18 nations took part this year, which is very exciting for the development of the sport,” says Catrin Norinder, FEI Director Eventing and Olympic. “We have seen countries field teams for the first time, including Austria, Hungary the Czech Republic, and there have been great performances from some of the world’s top athletes alongside many new names making their team debuts. This year we also welcomed a new venue, Wiener Neustadt in Austria, which attracted eight teams.”

“This is a valuable series in terms of offering team experience to a wide range of athletes and we’re thrilled that so many have taken up the challenge.”

The final event of the series at Boekelo saw Team New Zealand lead throughout to triumph out of 11 starting nations, with Tim Price also taking the individual honours on Cekatinka. German Olympian Andreas Dibowski led his three less experienced team mates to a close second place, just 4.4 penalties behind, and Australia finished in third, with Christopher Burton and Cooley Lands the only combination to finish inside the time across country.

In 2016 Germany won a third FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing title in five years, beating Great Britain, the winners of the ninth and final leg at Boekelo (NED), by 20 points.

The two countries have been close rivals since the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing started in 2012, with Britain heading the final leaderboard in 2013 and 2015, and both teams have scored three wins each this season.

Germany could only manage fourth place at Boekelo but the best seven scores in the series count and, therefore, Britain, which has contested eight out of nine legs this year, including the new competition at The Plains (USA), had to drop their lowest score: 55 points for a sixth place at Fontainebleau (FRA).

France, which has also shown great consistency over seven legs of the 2016 Nations Cup™ Eventing season and won at Vairano (ITA) last month, finished third in the table. The Netherlands, which has contested five legs, was fourth, and Australia, which scored a memorable win in Aachen (GER), was fifth.

Britain was third after Dressage at Boekelo but soared into a clear lead with three brilliant cross-country performances, all inside the optimum time of 10 minutes 50 seconds.

“Yet again, the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing has provided a brilliant and exciting competition to follow and it’s great that so many teams are using it to bring on up-and-coming riders to prepare for championships,” said Catrin Norinder, the FEI’s Director of Eventing and Olympic.

“There has been much to celebrate, look forward to providing another great season in 2017.”

FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing 2016Final standings

1 Germany 620 points

2 Great Britain 600

3 France 535

4 Netherlands 345

5 Australia 305

6 Ireland 290

7 Italy 275

8 USA 255

9 Sweden 230

10 New Zealand 220

9 Belgium 215

12 Switzerland 125

13 Norway 90

14 Canada 90

The 2016 FEI Nations Cup Eventing Series saw nine events on the calendar including a new venue for Italy and the addition of an American leg

The FEI’s team Eventing series, the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing, is open to all nations fielding one team composed of 3 or 4 riders at each leg, and runs under FEI Eventing rules at CICO and CCIO 3* level with riders accumulating points under a dedicated system. The teams will be composed of 3 or 4 riders from the same nation with the 3 best results of each team will be taken into account for the team classification. There is no limit to the number of Nation’s Cup events that Athletes / Horses can compete in

In 2015 a new rule has been applied whereby a minimum of three teams must entered and compete at each Event of the Series in order to validate the Event as a Nations Cup (to be finalised by the entry date)

Click here to view the results of the FEI Nations Cup 2014. To view our Nations Cup eventing coverage, place your cursor on the FEI Nations Cup Eventing menu item in the top Menu bar and it will bring up a list of events. You can then click on the link to view all articles available for each event to date

Germany was victorious as the overall champions in 2015

FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing Series2014

Following two successful trial years of this new series team competition in 2012 and 2013, the FEI Bureau has approved its continuation in 2014.

The FEI Nations Cup series events in 2014 are;

CICO 3* Fontainebleau (FRA)

19 - 23 March 2014

CICO 3* Ballindenisk (IRL)

10 - 14 April 2014

CICO 3* Houghton Hall (GBR)

22 - 25 May 2014

CICO 3* Strzegom (POL)

26 - 29 June 2014

CICO 3* Aachen (GER)

15 - 20 July 2014

CICO 3* Malmö (SWE)

1 - 3 August 2014

CICO 3* Montelibretti (ITA)

19 - 21 September 2014

CICO 3* Waregem (BEL)

25 - 28 September 2014

CCIO 3* Boekelo (NED)

9 - 12 October 2014

To view our 2014 Nations Cup eventing coverage, place your cursor on the FEI Nations Cup Eventing menu item in the top Menu bar and it will bring up a list of events. You can then click on the link to view all articles available for each event to date

In 2012 Germany won the inaugural FEI Nations Cup Eventing series but a squad of young British riders pipped them at the post for the overall series title in 2013. The winner of the series is decided by the accumulation of points obtained in each Nations Cup Competition with the best five results out of the six events counting towards the Final classification; Great Britain just beat Germany by one point with their five best scores totalling 51 compared to Germany’s 50

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Following a first successful trial year in 2012 of the Eventing Nations Cup™ series the FEI Bureau have approved another trial year in 2013. The team competition, open to all nations, at CIO- Short and Long level runs under CIO*** FEI rules for eventing and seven nations are organising a leg of the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing series in 2013

The brand new six-leg series, which will take place on a trial basis in 2012, is open to all nations fielding one team composed of 3 or 4 riders at each leg. The FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing 2012 will be run under FEI Eventing rules at CICO and CCIO 3* level and riders will accumulate points under a dedicated system created for the new series.

Mike Etherington-Smith

Mike Etherington-Smith, Chief Executive of British Eventing, is working closely with the FEI Eventing Committee on developing this news series. “This exciting new idea for a Team Competition at 3* level, which is open to all nations, has taken some time to pull together. We all very much hope that it will capture the interest and imagination of National Federations, riders, Organising Committees, sponsors and the media,” he explained.

“The FEI Nations Cup Eventing series is also seen as an exciting opportunity for riders to gain valuable team experience, and for National Federations to use it to improve performance as well as adding an interesting dimension to the sport.”

This year 6 nations are organising a leg of the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing series